Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend. Bruce Lee

If you watch some old MMA it was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Kick boxing Submission or Brawling now MMA is about trying to be the best well rounded fighter you can be with no one style that is what Bruce Lee was about and that is why Dana White called Bruce Lee the Father of modern MMA.

Im still trying to come up with my list for this thread, but I am a bit confused. Are we saying influential as in their accomplishments somehow changes MMA for the better or is it about popularity, as in they helped make MMA more popular? (and yes that is for the better, but I hardly find that significant to call them influenetial). example (not MMA) David Caradine played Kwai Chang Caine (grasshopper) in the 70's tv series Kung Fu. At the time, the man had absolutely no martial arts training, but, helped to make the martial arts popular in the United States. So, does that make David Caradine an influential figure in martial arts? I hope not. But I can even stretch this example question a little thinner and say since David Caradine helped to make the martial arts popular, and since Mixed Martial Arts is derived from that, can we then say that David Caradine helped make MMA popular and thus should be considered an influential figure in MMA? OK, that is getting pretty thin, but that is where I am having my problem making my list. anyway, end of example... Also, it looks to me that alot (not all) the posts, when they refer to MMA they are only talking about the UFC and they are limiting the discussion to America or North America. I find it hard to think of MMA and not atleast think of Japan and Brazil. And I have come to take this thread as meaning Modern MMA, the sport we enjoy today.
Hmmmm this is a hard thread to do justice to. But I definately like this thread and look foreward to reading more peoples ideas concerning this.

All I'm asking is to give your opinion who was a good influence in the creation of MMA. I personally think David Carradine doesn't really fit in the list.

I agree what you said about posters the discussion to American MMA. Unfortunatly, many of the new wave MMA fans in the West and other countries were introduced to MMA moslty because of UFC. Some would credit TUF reality show for that, you can see this is the terrible price of achieving mainstream fame, and the result of this created something of a war between UFC fanbase and the Pride fanbase that unfortunalty goes to the point of racial insults. Many of these new wave MMA fans also also look down on those that influenced MMA like the Gracies and Japanese "Strong Style" of pro wrestling where shoot-wrestlers like Akira Maeda and Takada originally started. They even look down on Fujita just because he was a pro wrestler despite his MMA accomplishment (he came close to beating Fedor than anyone else).

This thread may of have been done to death. But , I still think with many events happening in MMA recently I thought this now a good time to discuss this. Remember this is my opinion so Post your own top 10 (starting from "lowest" 10 to "highest" 1) influential figures who helped create MMA.

10. Tito Ortiz: When MMA was on the rise, Tito Ortiz was the man who was on everyone's mind.

9. Ken Shamrock: The first time I discovered MMA was because of Shamrock's venture in the WWF.

8. Dan Severn: Truly a legend who proves pro wrestlers aren't wussies in MMA. He was the first to hold both a major Wrestling title (NWA) and a major MMA title (UFC) at the same time.

7. Sakuraba: His legacy is what got me really interested in MMA, at the time he was the total package in MMA.

6. Dana White: Love him or hate him, you have to respect his achievement and how he defended MMA against closed minded idiots like the Billy O'Reilly of Fox News and Jim Lampley.

5. The Fertittas: They rolled the dice and came up big. They have turned this sport from a bloodsport being held in dingy convention centers, into the biggest draw in Vegas.

4. Bas Rutten: Bas Rutten is also an influential figure, he started in Pancrase and is now one of the best MMA fighters ever as well as the greatest Dutch fighter ever.

3. Antonio Inoki and Catch Wrestling: Catch wrestling is arguably the ancestor of modern professional wrestling and mixed martial arts competitions (Josh Barnett). Catch wrestling's origins lie in a variety of styles, most notably the regional wrestling styles of Europe, particularly the British Isles (eg. Collar-and-elbow, Lancashire catch-as-catch-can submission wrestling etc.) and Asia (eg. pehlwani). The term is sometimes used in a restricted sense to refer only to the style of professional wrestling as practiced in United States carnivals just before and after 1900. Under this stricter definition catch wrestling it is one of many styles of professional wrestling, specifically as practiced in carnivals and at public exhibitions from after the US Civil War until the Great Depression. Karl Gotch, a wrestler who was unforunatly ignored in the US because of his stiffness, Gotch spread Catch Wrestling into Japan that would help create Strong style wrestling (a true pioneer). Catch would also create great MMA fighters like Sakuraba and the Shamrocks. One of Gotch's proteges is Japanese pro wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, who had a serious of MMA matches at the peak of his career in the 70's and 80's. Although Inoki's match with Ali was boring, it still should be considered an influence. Inoki had fought other MMA fighters, some say they were legit and others were worked.

2. The Gracies and BJJ: Love them or hate them, gotta respect their legacy and the fact they helped put MMA where it already is now(in the words of Royce "I built this house).

1. Martial artists of all centuries including Bruce Lee: Bruce Lee was definetly the most influential Martial artist of the 20th century. Lee's process could be seen as the first MMA system. Although Lee wasn't the first to come up with crossing styles, he revived the idea as the idea has been around for centuries thats how different Martial art styles came to be, they borrowed from each other plus there are ancient stories of MMA tournaments that took place pitting warriors of different styles against each other. However, masters of different styles have too much pride in their styles in the later years to the point of looking down on each other's styles.

__________________
How can you know anything about yourself if you have never been in a fight? --- Tyler Durden

Genki Sudo showed people how to think outside of the box and completely altered my personal fighting style
Ken Shamrock got me into MMA also. No matter what he does from now on i am still a fan
Randy showed me how important following a gameplan can be
Royce and the Gracies- Showed the world BJJ
Vitor- Showed what can happen when an explosive, well - rounded athlete does MMA
There are a few of mine

6. Evan Tanner: one of the first champions across different wieght classes.

5. Tito Ortiz: Was there for MMA starting to blow up and took it to the next level.

4. Dana White: Has become a great poster boy for the sport.

3. Sakakibara: Headed up PRIDE FC and we all know what Pride has done for us.

1&2. The Fertitta Brothers (Lorenzo and Frank III): Picked up UFC in 2001 and have pumped money into a dying organization to bring it back from the brink of extinction. As well as buying Pride FC forcing Zuffa and the MMA to go global.

In conclusion this list was a lot harder to make then I thought it would be.